Albert Jack teaches tricks of the trade

WITH ten books under his belt and more than 20 months on the UK Sunday Times and New York Times Bestseller Lists between them, international multi-bestselling author Albert Jack knows a thing or two about writing and publishing.

WITH ten books under his belt and more than 20 months on the UK Sunday Times and New York Times Bestseller Lists between them, international multi-bestselling author Albert Jack knows a thing or two about writing and publishing.

Having established himself as a best-selling non-fiction writer, Albert has now decided to share his experiences of the past decade through a writers workshop in his home town of Guildford.

It's been almost nine years since the writer and historian's first book, Red Herrings and White Elephants, which explored the origins of well-known phrases in the English language, was published.

The book, which was serialised in the Sunday Times, has sold more than 250,000 copies (so far) and stayed in the top ten of the UK Sunday Times bestseller list for 16 months.

Given Albert's continuing success over the years, it seems he has found many of the secrets to producing popular non-fiction books - something he now wants to share with budding authors.

"I was sitting down with some friends of mine in South Africa one day and they asked me how it was that I had managed to be so successful and how I went about sending my manuscripts to publishers so they would get noticed," said Albert, who now splits his time between Guildford and Cape Town, where he has also run writers workshops. "There are so many people out there who try to write books but many do not get published - many do not even get finished.

"So I sat down and literally just wrote down everything I had done and learned in the process and decided it was something I could teach and try to help others with."

Albert's exploration of the strange stories behind popular culture and the things we take for granted, in titles such as Pop goes the Weasel, Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep and What Caesar did to my Salad, thrust him into the limelight, something he didn't expect when he embarked on writing his first book.

Fascinated by discovering the truth behind the world's great stories, Albert has become an expert in explaining the unexplained, making him in huge demand for live television shows and radio appearances worldwide,

"No one prepares you for that," he said. "It was pretty scary at times, knowing the right things to say and talk about when being interviewed about your work."

These situations, as well as the skills and techniques required to ensure a manuscript receives positive attention, will be explored in Albert's eight-week programme of workshops, which start at the Guildford Institute in September.

"Not everybody can write, but to be equipped with the skills and professional techniques of a full time writer is a big advantage," he said.

The success of Albert's own books has a lot to do with his invention of what he calls the 'ten minute read', enabling readers to open his books at any point and be fully entertained for ten minutes at a time before "going off to do something more productive with their time".

"It's about finding that saleable thing," he explained. "At the end of the day publishers want to make money out of your book, just as much as you do so they are going to be looking for something that appeals to a wide-range of people."

The professional workshop will equip delegates with the skills needed to present strong and well written ideas to professional agents in London and New York.

Each of the eight modules will be run by Albert himself and will concentrate on a particular aspect of writing - from finding a strong saleable idea to making a professional presentation.

But the workshop is by no means a student's course, Albert will not be teaching the intricacies of punctuation, grammar, plot construction and dialogue, which he says, can be learned anywhere.

Instead, it is a workshop aimed at varied and talented would-be authors, who are brimming with ideas but have no real understanding (yet) of how to approach the professional world-wide market place.

"I find the process really rewarding - to be able to teach people what I have learnt and it's great to hear other people bounce ideas off each other," Arthur said. "Life as a writer can be quite solitary so this is something different and exciting for me."

Registration details and more information can be found at www.albertjack.com or by emailing workshops@albertjack.com

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She has been editorial director of the online and print titles in Surrey and north-east Hampshire since 2007. Marnie previously worked at the BBC as a producer for 5 Live, having moved to national radio from BBC Sussex and Surrey.